The Waves restaurant at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in the Diplomatic Area is preparing to deliver a new menu with a dash of Mediterranean flavours.

Chef de cuisine Massimiliano Marino from Sicily, Italy, has just joined the restaurant to bring 18 years of Mediterranean mastery to the island.

He said: "I have always enjoyed the concept of cooking locally caught fresh fish and I plan to ensure Waves remains a dream destination for food connoisseurs."

And Chef Massimo, 34, is planning to make the taste buds tingle with some new culinary ideas to compliment the popular Thai and Lebanese cuisines on offer.

"I believe there is room for a dash of Mediterranean magic on the menu. While we will use the local fish we will be importing herbs, olive oil and vegetables from Italy to give the dishes the true flavour of the Med. We are in the process of creating a new menu and hope to have it ready by the middle of October."

Chef Massimo confided in GulfWeekly a few dishes that customers can expect to be featured such as marinated salmon, pasta and risotto, spaghetti with clams and lobster, calamari with potatoes and cherry tomatoes, hammour stirred in Mediterranean sauce as well as a range of traditional Italian desserts such as tiramisu and almond semifreddo.

He said: "We will also have daily specialties depending on what fish is available in the market on that day.

"The main products that are used in Mediterranean cuisine are extra virgin olive oil, rosemary, thyme, black olives, basil, cherry tomatoes as well as other fresh herbs.

"Similar to Lebanese mezze, we have the antipasti which are an assortment of many dishes. We will introduce it in Waves by adding Mediterranean bites such as aubergine, parmesan, stuffed tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes and marinated mushrooms."

Chef Massimo's passion for cooking developed at an early age when he worked at a seaside restaurant owned by his uncle. He later completed his diploma from the Instituto Alberghiero in Catania.

His career took off in 1991 when he worked as a commis chef with well-known Sicilian Chef Corrado Messina at the Vito Vultaggio Ristorante in Sicily and stayed for four years. He has also worked in Rome and Germany.

In 1997, he took up the post of restaurant chef at the Awenue Restaurant and in 2000 moved to Buffalo Bill's Restaurant as head chef, both in St Julian, Malta.

In 2003, he joined Yoghhiebooboo restaurant in Sicily as sous chef before joining the InterContinental St Julian's Hotel in Malta in 2007 where he later became head chef of the Italian restaurant, Paranga.

Chef Massimo said: "This is my first time to the Middle East and I am excited to be able to increase my knowledge of different cultures and cuisines."

Aside from Mediterranean and Italian food, specifically Sicilian, Chef Massimo is well versed with Texas-Mexican styles and Asian fusion.

Today he shares one of his favourite dishes with GulfWeekly readers.

Sea bream in cherry tomato and fish fumet sauce

(Serves two)

Ingredients:

1 Sea bream filleted, 500gm

2 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1 Teaspoon chopped garlic

1 Teaspoon chopped leeks

8 Clams

2 Peeled prawns

6 Mussels

3 Cherry tomatoes cut in 4

Salt, black pepper

25cl fish stock

Fresh chopped parsley

Method

Heat a pan with olive oil and cook the fish fillets on one side for one minute. Turn the other side and add garlic, leeks, clams, mussels, cherry tomatoes, salt and pepper and cook it for one more minute.

Add the fish stock, cover the pan and allow it to simmer for two more minutes. Add the fish and seafood on the plate and add hot sauce on top.

Garnish with fresh chopped parsley.